Playtime

Children's talent to endure stems from their ignorance of alternatives. ~Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969

The only child development qualifications I have are:

1. I was a kid once
2. After 55 years, I'm still a kid

I love to laugh and play and I can't imagine it could be anything but good for me. On most Monday's I take care of Ayla - my granddaughter. The truth though is that she is really taking care of me. We laugh, play, sing and dance all day long. I think this is good for both of us. It's been proven (see John Medina, "Brain Rules") that we don't pay attention to boring things, exercise boosts brain power, we're natural explorers and we need to stimulate more of our senses.

One of the pleasant surprises of my journey was watching kids play and playing with them. I played volleyball, football (soccer), and horsed around not just with kids in school but kids on the street. In a country with so many problems and so much oppression, it was nice to see kids smile, laugh and have fun. We may take small pleasures for granted but others need those pleasures to keep putting one foot in front of the other. They need those small pleasures to endure - and to thrive.